Period clothing is just one of the types of collectibles and antiques at Webb's.*

At Webb's Antique Mall

By Susan J. Young

The highlight of a trip up I-75 from Tampa to points further north in Georgia or Alabama is a chance for a pit stop at Webb's Antique Mall just outside Lake City, FL. If you can't find it at Webb's, you likely can't find it period. Simply put, the mall has everything.

Whether your looking for antique American or British furniture, collectible dolls, books, glassware, jewelry and period clothing, bottles and jugs, antique maps, or antique farm implements, Webb's has much to peruse. More than 300 vendors have space in the facility, basically a 50,000-square-foot warehouse that sits atop a hillside just off the Interstate.

Webb's is basically a warehouse filled with 50,000 square feet of collectibles and antiques.*

When you arrive at Webb's you'll be asked to check everything you bring inside (even a ladies' purse) inside a locker; you take the key. They say it helps prevent breakage, but it likely also discourages shoplifting. But not carrying a purse simply means more hands to hold any antique finds you discover.

On the day I visited in late January, one woman was going from booth to booth looking for china, picking up an odd dish of a particular pattern here or there. The most fun thing about Webb's is coming across things you wouldn't expect -- such as a military uniform, every imaginable type of Coca Cola collectible, and even a suit of armor -- knight excluded of course.

One person's treasure is another person's junk -- but beauty is in the eye of the beholder!*

Webb's is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. From I-75, take Exit 414. The mall says it's located 20 miles north of Gainesville and 60 miles west of Jacksonville.